The development of a Motility Visualization System (MVS) is proposed for detecting and diagnosing problems associated with the muscular function of the gastrointestinal track. The system includes a high spatial density, pressure distribution sensing catheter capable of measuring the peristaltic waves of contraction as they propagate and an intuitive visualization software package that display this spatial-temporal data in real time. Phase I involves the design, construction, and evaluation of an innovative sold-stage catheter that uses a proprietary pressure sensing technology of Pressure Profile Systems, Inc. This sensing technique has been developed for other biomechanical measurement applications with similar requirements. This catheter represents a significant advancement over current designs by dramatically increasing the number of sampling elements and allowing integration into an easy-to-use data collection system. MVS has the power to revolutionize motility sensing procedures by simplifying the data collection process while producing high quality measurements useful for advanced diagnosis. This has the immediate clinical benefit of improving esophageal manometry and allows application of these techniques to other parts of the gastrointestinal tract. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: The research and development plan outlined in this proposal develops the next generation of Motility Visualization System (MVS) that provide user-friendly, high resolution graphical display for clinical motility assessment.